Category Archives: Traditions

Unplugged Action…

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You would hate to think that what I’m about to share is unusual; but in this day it is.  The Saint James Art Show is a great place to people watch or at least notice a variety of people types.  Unlike walking down the streets of the city or through the mall, I noticed a st. james courtphenomenon that swept the show.  No one was distracted from the art checking their phones…

Show attenders were enjoying a sunny eighty degree October day by taking in the sites of the art show.  It was wonderful.  No one almost ran into me while checking a text.  There were no crazy ring tones binging and singing.  There was a buzz of conversation and a periodic squeal of friends uniting among crowded isles.

Art viewers were completely in the moment and engaged; how refreshing.  People’s faces were alive and curiously looking at the art mediums.

Sometimes it’s wonderful to just unplug – disconnect.  As long as a cell phone, ipad or computer is on or at hand, we are ON – distracted.

Find the opportunity to unplug for a while.  At first you may feel like you are walking around naked, but I promise before long the peace that transcends understanding will encompass your soul.

Do you dare unplug?  Go ahead put the technology down and walk away and experience something new.

KK

Tis the Season

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For the last eight years February was the beginning, March was the get ready and April was GO! The ritual hasn’t changed come rain, sleet, snow and sunshine, THIS is the start of the big season. Over the years the prep time has grown to the point of not really feeling like the season ever ends. Are we finishing that one or getting ready for this one? And over the years, while still full of hustle and bustle, the season has become more enjoyable; so much so that even I am looking forward to getting things going.

We’ve made our annual pilgrimage that feels (and costs) a lot like buying school supplies, to the sporting goods store. We’ve checked the list and made sure the supplies are ready…

Pants, check. Socks and belt, check. Cup, check. Water bottle, check. Stadium seats, check. Sunflower seeds, check. Camera, check. Clothing for any and all kinds of weather, check. Hand warmers, check.

The season of which I’m referring and currently planning for is none other than youth baseball season! You were thinking that, right?

This will be the first year for metal cleats. That’s my boy behind the plate, don’t you slide into home and into his pretty face with those spikes! Thinking it, not saying it…I learned several years ago the best position for me to play during the game; number one fan! I’m at just about every game in the stands and cheering our team on. Win or lose, good game or bad, I’m proud of my player and his team for preparing and showing up to play their best on the field.

Little league and now collegiate baseball is amazing. We watch our kids grow from picking flowers in the outfield when they are five years old to being young men who play their position with skill and precision. They stand tall and are proud of the team they represent. Win or lose they show the character of the men they are becoming when they encourage the opposing team.

The coaches, us parents don’t always understand their game strategy, but we trust them with our boys not only because of baseball 1their knowledge of the game, but because they will help us show our sons what it is to be a man with values and integrity. Our boys need good coaches and we have been so blessed to have many. Some of the parents get a little weird and a little over the top when the umpire is having a bad day. But within minutes after the final run is scored, it’s the boys who are bugging around talking highlights, tossing a ball around having already forgotten the bad calls.

I do love all the things that make youth baseball great: the game strategies, being outside on a sunny day watching our boys play with absolutely nothing electronic but the scoreboard, the crack of the bat or the whap when the ball hits the catcher’s mitt and the excitement when the perfect play is made.

With the final flakes of snow melting away, our team will take the field this weekend having shaken the dust off their bats, grown in maturity, taller in stature, and better in skill. I can’t wait to see what happens! Win or lose, it will be a good season.

All the best,
KK

Sugar cookies and memories

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Yesterday I made sugar cookies to take to school at lunch time for Cole’s birthday.  Evidently it is still cool for mom to show up with cookies at middle school lunch as long as she doesn’t hang out too long.  The cookies were homemade slice and bake, but I wanted to ice them to look like baseballs.

One thing to understand, I am not an artist and if I can’t just shoot a fun shape out of a cookie press and add sprinkles, I’m stretching my talents.  Standing in the kitchen icing these cookies, I began to think about my son and how he is growing into a young man.  I felt thankfulness for the grace and encouragement God had delivered over and over to us throughout the years.  I thought about the day he was born and the first moment he looked at me as if to say, “so that is what you look like, I only knew your voice for these nine months.”

Then it came time to add the red icing to make the laces on the “balls”.  It wasn’t great.  Some were ok, and then I remembered my recipients, middle schoolers.  The cookie that looked like home plate was good and I eeked out five or six good baseballs, the rest got sprinkles.  I was running out of time and needed to get them over to school.

At one point I thought maybe I should scrap the idea and go buy the pretty ones from the bakery.  But then I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to reflect and embrace the blessing of a birthday many years ago and yesterday.

I have no idea how Cole will remember his 2012 birthday.  Maybe we will laugh about my attempt at cookie decorating; but I can almost promise you that he will know that every swipe of the icing spreader, and every squirt of the icing decorator was done with love.  Yes, I could have easily swiped my debit card and bought pretty cookies, but it wouldn’t have been the same experience for either of us.

Think about it,

KK

Reality TV has nothing on Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare’s contribution to literature and culture is bigger than most think.  He was a very common man (like most of us) who stepped out of the norm to write stories that poked fun at royalty, slandered political parties, and questioned societal snobbery.  Imagine what his posts on Facebook would have been like.  Today, he is the second most quoted writer in history; second only to writers in the Bible.

In looking for information on Shakespeare, I couldn’t find my notes so I googled it.  Who would have thought even 10 years ago that the word google would be a verb, much less accepted in most board rooms across our land?  The peers of William Shakespeare probably thought the same way with some of the 1700 common words he invented.  He was very crafty in taking verbs and turning them into nouns by adding a prefix or suffix, like buzz to buzzer.

In Kentucky, we have the opportunity to experience the works of Shakespeare under the stars of Louisville’s Central Park and in our classrooms through the mission of the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.  There have been hundreds of starry nights in the park where over the crickets’ chamber music thousands have experienced the melodic iambic pentameter written hundreds of years ago.

The audience in the park is made up of those who are old, young, families, couples, rich, poor, educated and uneducated; not unlike the original audiences of Shakespeare’s work.  They all stroll through the park and find themselves taken to another time; a love story, a tragedy or comedy.  Never mind not understanding every word spoken, the story is told and the audience understands what’s going on through the amazing set, costumes and expressions of the actors.

In Kentucky classrooms each year nearly 75,000 students not only experience the works of Shakespeare, but in many situations have an opportunity to discuss his works and how their themes still apply.  Kentucky Shakespeare’s educational programs are available for grades K-12.  For the high school students who have Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as required reading, having the production come to them helps solidify the story and it’s themes.

The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival has been producing Shakespeare’s plays in the park for over 50 years.  It’s free to attend but not free to produce.  This Kentucky gem needs our help to sustain the professional productions in the park and plan for additional productions.  Right now through the Power 2 Give program your gift is matched!  So, if you think your gift won’t matter, it will!  The website is www.power2give.org (choose organization, Kentucky Shakespeare).  Make your donation and watch it go twice as far toward the goal.

You may still be thinking that William Shakespeare and his 1700 invented words are for those uppity folks who attend theatre and cotillion, remember what Ben Johnson, a friendly rival of Shakespeare’s, said, “He was not of an age, but for all time!”

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to invest in the future of Kentucky Shakespeare.  To learn more visit their website, www.kyshakespeare.com.

Enjoy,
KK

Gray Thursday

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It has been a long-standing tradition in families across America that on Thanksgiving Thursday after over-stuffing on the turkey and fixings the football fans retire to take their naps in front of a bowl game.  Meanwhile the shoppers in the family spread the newspaper ads out on the table and create their strategy for black Friday shopping.

In recent years the internet entered the scene as the shoppers made their plans for black Friday referencing the difference in pricing online and those in the stores.  When there is less than a month and a list of gifts, all resources must be utilized.  But that is where the line should be drawn.

Last week several retailers announced that their black Friday deals would begin at 10 p.m. the night before.  The night before…that would be Thanksgiving night; grant it, shopping for Christmas can sometimes be hard to complete when it’s an important time to go to parties with friends and take the spiritual journey of the season, but is it necessary to squeeze out Thanksgiving Day?

Is it not worth a full 24 hours of life to slow down long enough to be thankful, stuff ourselves and enjoy time with family?  Now those 24 hours are being encroached on by retailers trying to create frenzy, and have their day in the media.

The family tradition at the beginning of the piece many times ends with family playing cards or watching a movie together, not charging the door of Wal-Mart to save little, and stand in line all night.  Where are our priorities?  Are they on the people we are shopping for and the important times we spend with them? Retailers would have you believe that to show your love to that special someone, you absolutely MUST leave them at the Thanksgiving table, and go buy them stuff.

If we are not careful, Thanksgiving Thursday is going to become, Gray Thursday – another historical holiday lost in commercialism.

Think about it.

All the best,

KK

Prom Night for the Adults

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Each spring in high schools across America the guys are nervous that she will say “no” and the girls are scared that they won’t get asked.  That probably isn’t so much the case for adults, but all of the other elements of prom go into preparing for the black-tie galas on Derby eve in Louisville.  It’s all about the dress, shoes, hair and make-up for the ladies and the men it’s about the tux and having a pretty girl on their arm.  Many of the Derby eve balls have celebrities in attendance.  In my opinion, celebrities are about as exciting as the high school football star or the head cheerleader at the prom.

We attended a ball this year.  For us, it was a night to get dressed up and enjoy an evening out. We danced a slow dance gazing into each other’s eyes and it didn’t matter that Grammy winner, Linda Davis, was the one singing to us.  It was just us.

Attending the ball made for some fun people watching; especially seeing those who were star-struck by the celebrities; following close behind them to catch them for a quick photo or autograph.  We did get one celebrity photo, primarily because she had been here before and was a favorite of my brothers.

The other people-watching joy was watching those not accustomed to being in a tux or an evening gown and high heels. Like the young ladies going to the prom in their first pair of strappy shoes, these women walked awkwardly on their toes (instead of relaxing and walking heel toe heel toe) and too early in the evening some thought it would be cute to take their shoes off.  But what struck me as saddest was what women consider to be appropriate attire for a black-tie evening.  There was opportunity for footage for Clinton and Stacey to review (What Not To Wear hosts).  Dresses were not right for their frame, or cut ridiculously too low (in the front or back).  Some were short colorful dresses and others were long.  An evening gown should have a classic style and not be too flashy.  Oh, and some women chose to wear hats. Seriously, a hat to a ball?

I realize that for most of us, going to a black-tie event may only come once a year if that often.  But let me encourage you that when the opportunity comes, please take a trip to the internet or the public library and brush up on appropriate attire.  Then check in with Clinton and Stacey on the TLC site for tips on proper fitting. Guys, sorry, but there is only so much you can do with a tux that who knows how many others have worn.

Not every woman is going to be (or needs to be) the Scarlett O’Hara at the ball.  The most important part is that you are dressed appropriately, feel pretty and have your very own Rhett (or love of your life) on your arm.

Just a thought, what do you think?

KK

A Wonder-filled Christmas moment

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Heavenly Father,

Allow us to draw near to you on that day in Bethlehem.  Help us to feel the jostling of the crowd as Joseph led the donkey with his beloved aboard; knowing that while you were the Father, he was the man to care for your chosen and your son.  May we know the worry on his face and in his heart as inn after inn they were turned away?  The city was full.  There was no room.  How like it is today with the over shadowing of gifts, parties and food that we forget to take care of that which is eternal.  Do we even notice?

Give us the opportunity, Lord, to be still, to experience that holy night.  Permit us to put the noise of the city and the commotion of too many distractions aside and see the star that you set in the sky at creation.  We take a deep breath and push our way through the crowd to follow the star and focus on that moment you pre-ordained to change the course of history as those in the City of David knew it.

It’s hard to push aside the distractions and find our way to the edge of town.  No one really noticed our exit, our following that poor, tired family to the barn.  Where are they going?  Another over crowded building that stinks!  Joseph, you can’t let the Savior of the world be born there!  He is tired and has tried his earthly best to find a bed for his betrothed.  Grant us this moment to feel his unworthiness.  Does he realize his human efforts are all in your plan?

Oh, the stench of too many animals and not enough manpower to keep the guests room clean much less the barn.  The first blow of air as the doors are open brings Joseph to almost puke, but he pushes the door open to allow for some fresh air as he makes space for Mary.  He gingerly helps her off the donkey and to the pallet of a thin blanket and some hay.

 Mary was not spared the pain of childbirth; but it didn’t matter.  Scream all you want Mary, the animals will empathize and the people are too busy and noisy to notice.  She takes a deep breath with the pain only to choke on the stench.  Joseph wipes her sweat and then that of his own.  His ordinary life is about to change for the extra-ordinary.  The moment in time that will change the world and the world isn’t even paying attention.

Father, please pull us near in these next few hours and let us be there with you.  For in the last scream of pain you pushed into this world just as promised.  The baby that was fully God and fully human squeezed into this world and now wants to squeeze into our hearts.  May we clear the clutter of our lives for Him?

Let the world stand still just this night, Lord, bring the peace, and the Savior into our hearts where He might live tonight and every day and night to follow.  Breathe into our homes and lives the spirit of the miracle and wonder of Christmas. It is not for us to understand it all, but just accept with faith that extra-ordinary measure you took, using ordinary people, in an ordinary town one night – the most holy of nights.

Amen.

My Friend and Reader,

Feel free to pass this post to someone you know and care about.  Knowing Christmas for the Savior who came will be the best gift ever.

All the best,

KK

The darkest part of the winter

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Recently my brother inspired me with a thought – the darkest part of the winter is when the light of the world was born.  That will make you think.  It’s Christmas week.  I’ve pondered and prayed on what I would share with you this season.

The darkest part of the winter – winter can be this icy cold season we are in now.  The life nature usually shares is dormant and ice covered.  Or maybe your dark winter is a lonely cold season of life you are in.  Darkness and cold can be scary.

Just when we are tired of the short days, slowly they begin to get longer.  Light comes and stays a little longer.  The season progresses along and hearts thaw to warmth of light.  But to take in the light and warmth we have to face it and accept it.

On a very dark night, some Shepherds were just doing their job watching their flock.  It was late, the darkest part of the night; perhaps right before the sun came up.  Instead of the sun, an angel and a sky full of heavenly hosts appeared to them.  Wow, can you imagine, they must have all thought they were hallucinating!!  Each may have looked to the other to be sure he wasn’t the only one seeing this.  The first thing the angel said to them was “do not be afraid.”  Too late, but thanks for the offer. (Read the full text in your Bible, Luke 2:1-20).

If the shepherds had been so afraid that they ran away, they would have never heard the rest of the message God was sending.  Sometimes we get lost in the darkest part of our winter, and when the light comes, we are afraid and hide from it.  We need to know darkness so that we may know the light.

In your dark winter moments, I encourage you to take a few minutes each day to listen for God, invite Him to join you.  But I have to warn you, when the Light of Life comes, be ready for the darkness to leave.  Just like the day light staying a little longer in the second half of winter, each day that we seek God, He and His word stay a little longer.

All the best,

KK

The Turkey’s Last Stand

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a whimsical story to start your Thanksgiving…

You should have seen the farmer’s face when with his sweat-beaded brow and the axe over his head, he heard me say, “stop!”  He looked at me like I had three heads and not just the one he was about to chop off.  Guess he was going to aim for the one in the middle, when I stood up from the wooden chopping block to continue my plea.

I stood up as brave and strong as I could, knowing that ultimately my fate was in his hands.  “Please, kind sir, you have fed me well and for that I am grateful.  Our coop was cleaned every day and in the winter you made sure we did not freeze.  But you see in spite of your generous care giving, I have not plumped up like others.  You would make more on me at market if you gave me just a few more months.  It’s just a thought.”  I started to walk away thinking I had made my point and given him a practical and prudent reason to not chop my head off and sell me at market in the morning.  Thanksgiving was just a few days away and the townspeople were shopping for fresh turkeys.

Before I took my second step, he swooped in with his free hand and grabbed me by the neck; kkkaaahhh!  “Sir, sir,” I choked.  “Please you are not crazy, I am talking with you.”  With a strike of fear in his eyes, he dropped me.  Landing near his foot, I stood up, flipped my feathers clean of dirt.  He dropped his axe and began to back away shaking his head.  I still had a case to plea.  So, I began to walk toward him.

“Let’s talk about this.  I know the missus is expecting you to get good money for your flock at market, I just wish to wait and allow for some fattening up.”

Shaking his head and backing up, “no, this isn’t happening.  I’ve heard others talk about being out in the sun too long and hearing their animals talk.  I need some water.”

I still had not spoken my piece.  I couldn’t rest until I knew I would see Thanksgiving from my nice warm coop.  I walked up beside Farmer.

“You are not going crazy, you know.  We talk all the time in the many hours we are left alone.  It was time for me to speak out.”

Farmer looked down at me with a double take. “Would you please quit talking?  The missus is going to think I’ve finally spent too much time with you chickens.”

With great pride in my voice, “fine sir, I am an American Gobbler, not a chicken.  I take great offense to being called a chicken – to the point that I would rather be headless than hear that again.

Farmer sighed shaking his head and continued toward the farm house; I followed close behind pleading my case.  On the first step, he kicked his boot against the post to knock the dust off just as a robust gray-haired woman came out of the front door with a tall glass of lemon-aid.

“What is that banging?  How many times do I have to tell you to kick the dust off by that tree, there, not on my porch?  I just finished sweeping it off.”  Farmer’s wife nagged as she handed him the glass.  “And why is there a turkey following you?”

“This turkey is talking to me, woman.”  Farmer groused.

“You’ve been in that sun too long, that bird doesn’t talk.”

I fluffed my feathers and extended my neck just a little taller, “excuse me,” I said pointing my wing in her direction, “I do talk and I’ve been having a delightful exchange with your husband,” turkey said with pride and a small gobble.

Farmer looked at turkey, “we haven’t been having any conversation.  You are a turkey and we are going to eat you for Thanksgiving! And don’t point your wing at my wife, it’s not polite.”

“Looks like you are talking to a turkey,” the farmer’s wife said in a matter of fact way.

“No, I’m not.” Farmer exclaimed.

“I believe you are, sir.  And for what it’s worth, I am grateful to have the opportunity to finally talk with you.  Do you know how difficult it has been to keep quiet all this time?”

Farmer shook his head looking from his wife to the bird, “I’m not debating with you both about this.  Turkey, get back over there.  Honey, go pick another turkey for Thanksgiving and which you want taken to market with this blabber beaked one.”

Wiping her hands on her quilted apron, the farmer’s wife shook her head. “Take whichever ones you want to market, we will have ham for Thanksgiving.”  She turned to go back inside and stopped, “except that one.  Never heard a turkey talk before, might help pass the time in the cold of winter.”

On his way back to the barn, the farmer looked at the turkey and exclaimed, “what is this world coming to, turkeys talking and HAM for Thanksgiving?”

…and the soul felt its worth

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One of my favorite Christmas songs is Oh Holy Night.  And my favorite phrase is “…and the soul felt its worth.”  The soul felt its worth.  It doesn’t say, your soul or my soul, it’s the soul; a universal statement that tells us that as a collection of souls — believers then, now and in the future experienced the purpose of Jesus.  The purpose of Jesus was at His birth and through his life to give us worth.

What is our worth?  What is your worth?  What is my worth? Can we really measure our worth?  What I do know is that if you were the only one on earth that needed saving, Jesus would still have come, ministered, and died.  That is your worth and mine. Do you know this in your mind?

Let’s talk about your heart and soul.  How do we move the knowledge of Jesus to the truth in our heart?  Consider how Jesus came to us.  He wasn’t born into an earthly family of affluence.  He understood what it was to see his parents struggle to make “ends meet.”  He watched his father work endless hours to provide and when he was old enough, he joined his earthly father in his earthly work.  He wasn’t born into a royal family, because he left his throne in heaven.  It was never His purpose to reign on earth by our means.   I remind you of this because Jesus truly understood and experienced our total human experience.  He didn’t just observe and learn; He felt it.  He lived it.  He knew hunger and physical need.  He knew rejection from those he loved.  He knew temptation straight from the devil himself.  He had no home and lived simply on the day to day provision of His heavenly father.

Jesus knew His worth and purpose and on that silent night with little fanfare and only the animals in a barn, God showed believers then, today and forever their worth.

Does your soul felt its worth? Be encouraged at his moment to not click another button before you take some time, close your eyes picture the birth and life of Christ and know He did it for you.  You have that much worth in the eyes of the God of all creation.

Merry Christmas,
KK